A forum initiated by the Secretary-General and Head of the Civil Service, Ousman Jammeh brought together, Permanent Secretaries from various government departments to brainstorm on issues essential to good governance and responsible management of government portfolio.

The forum endorsed quality leadership that will attract commitment from junior staff and dedication to duties.

Ousman Jammeh, Secretary of State for Petroleum, Energy and Mineral Resources, who still holds the position of Secretary- General, said a team work can be a very important catalyst to successful governance.

SoS Jammeh, said it has been his aim to promote interaction among senior government officials, to ensure multilateral approach to government undertakings.
He said failure in any government sector will reflect on the general output of other departments.

He assured the Permanent Secretaries that the functions of the forum will go beyond the level of government administrations, and  then noted that it shall cover other immediate superiors.

The committees, as highlighted by SoS Jammeh, shall also look at deliberate absentism which, he said, after exceeding three occasions within a month will call for the officer’s dismissal.  “In the act that it occurs twice within the same period, the officer is not entitled to promotion”, he said.

SoS Jammeh made reference to President Jammeh’s utter disappointment at the working environment in government offices, and then tasked the officials to try to address the issue with urgency.

Abdou Touray, Permanent Secretary, Department of State for Finance and  Economic Affairs, gave a financial overview of government’s motivation package for its staff.

Yusuf Dibba, Permanent Secretary, Personnel Management Office, recalled that there had been planned reforms for the civil service in the 80’s, but lamented that they were unsuccessful due to financial constraints.

The restricting of the civil service, Mr Dibba noted has received overwhelming support from donor agencies, after 1994.

He said government is concerned with upgrading institutional capacities, governance and management as factors in the standardisation of government’s departments.

The government machinery is anchored on productive services delivery and strategic policy implementation to retain highly-trained professional staff.